Butterfly
by living-angel13
Summary: Grissom has come back and meets his new little butterfly Tate. Story is better then summary.
1. 4 Years

It has been almost 4 years since Grissom left CSI to take care of some personal things and now he is back to make things right here. Gil Grissom stood in the waiting room of the lab and saw people that he knew and had been friends with. Then there were the new people that he didn't know. Walking down the hall he saw a young man with spiky hair who looked to be in his mid to late twenties with a woman strawberry blond who looked to be in her early forties. Right away when he saw their faces he knew who they were. It was Greg Sanders and Catherine Willows. He then turned his attention towards a black man who had just walked in with another young looking man. He recognized them to. Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes. Grissom continued to look around looking for a certain person. But he seemed to not be able to find her. Gil rose from the plastic gray seat which he had been sitting in for awhile and made his way over to Nick Stokes.

"Excuse me, I am looking for Sara Sidle would you happen to know where she is?" he asked. Nick turned his head and came face to face with a very old friend.

"She has the day off, but I can take you to her if you want" Nick informed Grissom.

"No, that's alright if you could just give me her address I can drive over there" Grissom told the young CSI. Nick stood there with a worried look on his face he hid it so Grissom couldn't see it. Nick wrote the address on a stick note and handed it to Grissom. Gil took the address and left the building leaving Nick behind in shock.

20 minutes later Grissom was almost there. He continued to look at the address as if the question he had were going to be answered by looking at the paper in which he held between two fingers. Gil pulled up to a nice little house and got out of his car. The warm breeze hitting his face made him miss being in Vegas. In the front yard were some bushes and a small pink tricycle. Making his way up the steps and onto the porch he noticed more little toys for a girl. Gil began to reach for the door, but before his hand could reach the door to knock it flew open and out bounced a little girl. A moment later the girl was followed by another girl, but this one older. She looked about 15. It was Lindsey Willows.

"Lindsey" Grissom exclaimed shocked to see her here. The teenager looked up from the little girl and smiled.

"Uncle Gil" she responded. They hugged each other and Lindsey introduced the little girl to Grissom. He knelt down to be eye level with the little girl.

"Hi, am Gil Grissom what is your name?" he asked the girl in pink overalls. She looked up at Lindsey who shook her head 'yes'.

"My name is Tate" she informed the older man kneeling in front of her. The three of them sat and talked for a little bit and then Grissom left.

Later that evening when Sara was tucking Tate in her little butterfly bed Tate said something that gave Sara the chills.

"Mommy, who is Gil Grissom?" she asked. Sara's breath caught in her throat.

"Honey, who are you talking about?" she asked her daughter. _How did she know about him?_ Sara thought to herself.

"Well today when Lindsey was here we were gonna go to the park but then we didn't go because a man Lindsey called Uncle Grissom was here" she began to explain to her mother. Sara turned pale at the thought that Tate had met Grissom. She snuggled Tate in the bed and whispered that she will tell her tomorrow morning. Tate fell asleep fast. Sara rose from the bed and walked towards the door. Before she closed it she peeked in and whispered to her sleeping daughter "I love you" and then she closed the door. Sara headed downstairs and grabbed the phone. Immediately she dialed Catherine's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Willows" came Catherine's voice from the other end.

"Catherine, what do I do?" Sara asked nervous. On the other end Catherine was confused.

"Sara, what's wrong?" Catherine asked worried thinking something was wrong Tate.

"Is it Tate?" she asked to make sure. Catherine could here Sara start to cry.

"He's back" Sara managed to choke out through the tears. The tears that she didn't cry when he left but now that he is back she can't hide them.

"Who is?" Catherine asked confused and worried at the same time. She heard a few sobs and some sniffling then Sara's voice.

"Grissom" Catherine froze on the other end. Sara wiped her tears with her sleeve and waited for Catherine to respond.

"What do you mean he's back?" Catherine asked in almost a stutter. Sara didn't respond right away but when she did the line went quiet.

"He saw her" she said and then hung up the phone. It didn't ring the rest of the night.


	2. Mr Grissom the Bugman

The next morning Sara woke up to Tate bouncing on her bed.

"Good morning sweetheart" Sara exclaimed to the bouncing child.

"Mommy, can we go see Auntie Catherine?" Tate asked still bouncing. Sara reached out for the little girl, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards her.

"We will if you stop bouncing" she began to explained but was interrupted by the little girl's voice.

"And Uncle Nicky and Uncle Rick and Uncle Greggy" she asked looking at her mother. Sara smiled.

"Yes them to" she replied.

"Say" Tate shouted and bounded out of Sara's room. Sara sat in her bed grinning as she watched her daughter bounce out of the room. After about 5 minutes of sitting in the bed she climbed out of bed to see what Tate was up to. When she walked past the bathroom she heard Tate talking. Sara peeked in on the little girl and saw her talking to a stuffed bear that Brass had given her when she was born. Sara had never heard Tate talk to the bear that was normal for a child but what she called it made chills run down her spine.

"Mr. Grissom what is your favorite butterfly?" Tate asked the bear sitting in the chair across from her. Sara stared in shock and then opened the door.

"Tate, honey what are you gonna wear today?" Sara asked avoiding what she just heard come from her daughter. Tate walked over to her closet, opened the door, and pulled out a pink tank top with a butterfly on the front with a pair of blue jean shorts. Tate got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Sara had already set out a bowl of cereal for Tate on the counter and went to change herself. Up in Sara's bedroom she pulled out a plain light blue and white polo shirt with a pair of black pants and threw them on. Once she got downstairs Tate was watching television and ready to go. 20 minutes later they were both walking out the door.

Once they reached the lab Sara helped Tate out of the car and she took off to the lab. Sara hadn't even closed the back car door and Tate was already in the building. When Sara finally made her way into the lab the secretary smiled and pointed down the hall towards the bouncing child. She followed the little girl into the break room and saw Catherine and Nick in there talking.

"Uncle Nicky" she said hopping into his arms.

"Hey, Tater tot how ya doing" he asked picking the girl up. Tate leaned over and kissed Catherine on the cheek.

"Hi, Auntie Catherine" she exclaimed.

"Hi, honey" Catherine said returning the kiss on the young girl's cheek.

"Where is Uncle Greggy?" Tate asked leaning back in Nick's arms.

"I am right here!" came the voice of Greg behind Sara. Tate turned completely around in Nick's arms and dropped down. Greg stood in the doorway crouched over to pick her up.

"Hey, Tater tot" he said smiling. When Greg was around Tate he was a kid himself not like he didn't act like that on a daily bases. Warrick walked down the hall hearing the giggling of a little girl. He didn't even have to see her to know that it was Tate.

"Uncle Rick" she said excitedly when she saw Warrick round the corner. He walked into the break room and took her from Greg in a hug.

"What's up Tater tot?" he asked the little girl.

"Not much" she replied hugging him. Sara saw Brass come around the corner.

"Tate, grandpa's coming" she informed the little girl in Warrick's arms. Tate dropped down and ran into the hallway. Brass saw the little girl and smiled. He loved having another little one in the office. The last time there was one in there was when Lindsey was little and that about 15 years ago. She wasn't his grandchild but he called her that. Sara Sidle was like his daughter so it was only appropriate to call Tate his grandchild. Besides Sara and Tate both loved it.

"Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa" she yelled running right into him. He lifted her off the ground and spun her in the air and then brought her back to eye level. Every time he looked into her little blue eyes it made him want to cry. She reminded him so much of Grissom.

"Hey Butterfly" Brass said to the smiling child in his arms. Butterfly was her first word so that is what he called her. Even though every one else called her Tater tot. Tater tot was a cute nickname but for some reason Butterfly seemed perfect for her. Every one else in the break room made there way into the hallway and began talking.

"Mommy, is my teddy bear in the car?" Tate asked Sara who was talking to Nick.

"Yeah, do want me to go and get it?" she asked turning her attention towards her daughter still in Brass's arms.

"Yes, please" Tate replied politely. Sara walked through the CSI's and headed out the door. She came back a few minutes later with the bear in her left hand.

"Here ya go" she said handing the bear to her daughter. Tate reached out and took it from her mother.

"Thank you" she replied to her mother.

"So Tater tot have you finally gave him a name?" Nick asked referring to the bear in her arms.

"Yup, his name is Mr. Grissom the Bugman" she answered Nick's question but also shocked the other CSI's. The same question ran through all of their heads.

_How did she know about Gil Grissom only the CSI's called him the Bugman?_


	3. Telling The Gang

After the comment that Tate made Sara thought it was time to take her to the daycare so she did. When Sara arrived back at the lab after dropping Tate off she wasn't surprised to see everybody in the break room. She rounded the corner and saw Catherine and Brass talking, Nick, Warrick, and Greg holding a conversation. Nick saw Sara out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention towards her. She stalked over to a chair and slumped into it not lifting her head until Nick said something.

"Sara, we were wondering how Tate knew about Grissom?" Nick asked hoping Sara would know. Sara lifted her head and looked around the room at her colleagues.

"I am guessing when Lindsey came over yesterday" Sara began to explain but was interrupted by Warrick.

"But why would Lindsey tell her?" he asked. Sara looked at him.

"She didn't tell her, Lindsey and Tate were heading to the park when Tate ran into Grissom by accident and they all talked for awhile. I didn't think to ask Lindsey about it. But later that night when I was putting Tate to bed she asked me who Gil Grissom is." she continued to explain.

"What did you tell her?" Brass asked.

"Well I couldn't tell her that he was her father. She is still to young to know and besides he left me so when he decides to say something I might tell him" Sara informed them all. Catherine walked around Nick and Warrick and wrapped her arms around Sara who looked as if she were about to cry. Nick moved to hug her and then walked out with Warrick and Greg after they both hugged Sara. Brass hugged Sara and kissed her on the top of her head and told her everything is going to be okay. Sara pulled away from Catherine's arms and smiled.

"Catherine I am so glad I am friends with you" she said through tears. Catherine grinned.

"Sara I am glad friends with you to, because I would have to kill Greg and Nick sometimes maybe Warrick" Catherine said smiling hoping that would make Sara feel better, and it did. Sara laughed and dried her face with the back of her hand.

Later that evening Sara was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Tate after Nick and Warrick left. During the middle of the movie Tate fell asleep on the couch next to Sara then the doorbell rang. Sara rose from the couch carefully trying not to wake Tate. She reached the door and opened it. There he stood.


	4. Fireflies

"Sara" came Gil's voice. Sara froze at the sight and sound of him.

"Come in" she waved him in. Grissom walked past Sara and into the living room. He saw Tate sleeping on the couch and smiled. Sara followed him into the living room and picked Tate carefully off the couch. She walked up the stairs quietly not waking Tate and put her in her room. As soon as Sara closed the door she heard Tate say something. She opened the door back up to see Tate sitting in her bed looking at her. Sara made her way across the dark room and sat on the bed next to Tate.

"Baby girl what's wrong?" Sara asked her daughter. Tate looked at her bear and then back at Sara.

"I can't sleep" Tate replied. Sara smiled and tucked Tate in her bed.

"Would you like me to sing you your lullaby?" Sara asked. Tate smiled.

"Yes, please" she responded. Sara began to sing.

**"**Before you met me I was a fairy princess  
I caught frogs and called them prince  
And made myself a queen  
And before you knew me I'd traveled 'round the world  
And I slept in castles  
And fell in love  
Because I was taught to dream

I found mayonnaise bottles and poked holes on top  
To capture Tinker Bell   
And they were just fireflies to the untrained eye  
But I could always tell

Cause I believe in fairy tales  
And dreamer's dreams  
Like bed sheet sails  
And I believe in Peter Pan  
And miracles, anything I can to get by  
And fireflies

Now before I grew up I saw you on a cloud  
And I could bless myself in your name  
And pat you on your wings   
And before I grew up I heard you whisper so loud  
Well life is hard and so is love  
Child, believe in all these things

I found mayonnaise bottles and poked holes on top  
To capture Tinker Bell  
And they were just fireflies to the untrained eye   
But I could always tell

Cause I believe in fairy tales   
And dreamer's dreams  
Like bed sheet sails  
And I believe in Peter Pan  
And miracles, anything I can to get by . . .  
And fireflies  
And fireflies . . .

Before you met me I was a fairy princess  
I caught frogs and called them prince   
And made myself a queen  
And before you knew me I'd traveled 'round the world  
And I slept in castles  
And fell in love   
Because I was taught to dream**"**

When Sara finished singing Tate had fallen asleep. She rose from the small bed and turned around to see Grissom standing in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. Sara walked out of the small room into the hallway and started to head downstairs. Once she reached the living room she sat down on the couch and Grissom sat across from her in the recliner.

"You have a very lovely voice" Grissom told Sara. Sara looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks. I only sing to her when she can't sleep" Sara replied to Grissom's comment.

"Sara how old is Tate?" he asked. Sara looked down at the floor.

"She will be 4 in two weeks" Sara responded. Grissom began looking at the pictures behind Sara's head hanging on the wall. The first one was with Nick, Warrick, Greg, and Tate together. The second was Tate, Catherine, Sara, and Lindsey. The third had Tate and Brass in it. Then Brass, Tate, and Sara. There were some more pictures around the room. There was a picture with everyone it it including Tate. Then he saw a picture that took his breath away. The picture was of Sara holding Tate. They both looked so happy. Sara finally broke the silence that lingered through the living room.

"Grissom is there something you wanted to know?" she asked. Grissom peeled his eyes away from the picture to look at Sara.

"Yes, there is" he replied.

"And what is it?" Sara asked Grissom. There was a pause and then he answered.

"Is Tate my daughter?" Grissom asked.


	5. The Explanation

Sara looked up at Grissom and saw how much Tate looked like him. Everyday she would look in Tate's eyes and see Grissom and it always made her want to cry.

"Yes, she is your daughter" Sara answered. Grissom smiled. A small tear dropped from his face. He rose from the recliner and sat next to Sara on the couch.

"Why did you leave?" Sara asked. Grissom looked down at his hands and then back at Sara.

"Sara, I left because I heard about Tate and didn't know what to do so I thought that if I took some time away I would be able to come back and figure things out" Grissom told her. Sara that stunned.

"Wait, how did you know about Tate?" Sara asked Grissom still stunned at what he had just told her.

"Brass, told me and then I figured that it was mine so I had to leave to clear my head and figure things out" Grissom said as he saw Sara look away.

"Why did come back after almost 4 years and decide that you could pick up where you left off?" Sara asked raising her voice a little more now. Grissom stared hard at Sara and knew she was upset.

"Sara, listen to me Tate's nickname is Tater tot right but Brass calls her something else" Grissom began to explain when Sara whispered.

"Butterfly" Grissom smiled at her.

"Do you know why Brass call her that?" he asked.

"Yeah, because that was her first word" she informed him.

"Yes, but do you know why she calls her teddy bear Mr. Grissom the Bugman?" he asked her.

"No" Sara said shaking her head.

"She saw a picture of me on Brass's wall and pointed it out to Brass and he told her who I was just not that I am her father" Grissom began to explain but was interrupted by the soft voice of Tate. Grissom and Sara turned their attention towards the stairs and saw Tate standing there with her teddy in her arms.

"Tate, sweetie. What's wrong?" Sara asked getting up from the couch and picking up her daughter. Tate snuggled next to Sara.

"Tate do you remember Mr. Grissom?" Sara asked her daughter who was smiling at Grissom.

"Yeah" she replied. Tate turned her body around and looked into her mother's eyes.

"Mommy, is Mr. Grissom my daddy?" Sara thought she felt her blood run cold. She froze not able to say anything.


	6. Daddy

"Yes, honey Mr. Grissom is your daddy" Sara replied to her daughter. Tate grinned at Sara and then turned to Grissom. She leaned over and planted a small butterfly kiss on his cheek. Tate jumped off the couch and walked up a few stairs and then turned around.

"Good night mommy, good night daddy" she giggled and walked up to her room. Sara sat at the end of the couch thinking. Grissom scooted closer and rested his hand on hers.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked leaning back into the couch.

"Nothing" she responded. Sara turned her body to face Grissom.

"What do we do now?" she asked. Grissom smiled.

"Well I guess we could go back to the way things were" he explained. Sara smiled.

"I'd like that" Sara responded.

The next morning Sara didn't awake to Tate this morning she awoke to the sound of Grissom's voice. Down the hall Grissom was talking to Tate.

"Good morning Butterfly" Grissom said to the little girl in pink pajamas. Sara rose from her bed a walked to the bedroom door. Standing there she saw Grissom and Tate. Tate wrapped her arms around Grissom.

"Good morning daddy" she heard Tate whisper. Sara just about melted at the sound of her daughter calling Grissom 'daddy'. Last night Tate called him 'daddy' but it felt like a dream to her. Tate saw Sara over Grissom's shoulder, immediately broke from Grissom's arms and ran to hug Sara.

"Good morning mommy" Tate said excitedly. Sara wrapped her daughter into a tight hug and smiled.

"Good morning angel" Sara said smiling at Grissom who had now stood up and was leaning against the wall. Tate broke free from Sara and ran out of the room, down the hall, and into the living room. Grissom walked over to Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good morning" he said smiling. Sara grinned into the kiss which was placed on her lips.

"I am gonna get ready for work then call Lindsey" Sara said walking out of the room into her own.

"Wait why are gonna call Lindsey?" Grissom asked running out of the room and into Sara's.

"Well I have to tell her that she doesn't need to babysit" Sara said from in the closet.

"Why is that?" Gil asked popping his head into the closet where Sara was standing.

"Because, now that your here you can spend some time with Tate" Sara said pulling a brown shirt off the hanger.

"Go to the park or something, besides you could use the exercise" she said patting him on the stomach and walking out of the closet.

"Ha ha your funny" he said after her. He heard her giggle from the bathroom and shook his head.


	7. I Love You

Once Sara and Grissom arrived at the lab Grissom helped Tate out of the car. Tate grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs to the lab. Sara followed the two of them in. Tate and Grissom were inside before Sara was even at the door. Inside Tate dragged Grissom down the hall. He looked around remembering everything from before he left. Now it all changed. Sara saw Grissom still attached to Tate and watched them go into the break room. In the break sat Nick and Greg talking about a case they were working on when Tate caught Nick's attention.

"Hey, Tater tot" Nick said to Tate and then he saw Grissom.

"Grissom".

"Hey, Nick long time no see huh" Grissom exclaimed knowing what Nick was gonna say.

"Well I just saw you the other day" Nick replied. Greg sat in the seat shocked until Catherine walked in a dropped the books she was carrying. The loud crash scared Greg and he jumped. Grissom helped Catherine with the books.

"Gil?" she asked. Greg sat still in his seat not able to speak.

"Hi, Catherine" Grissom replied. Catherine still crouched to the floor with her mouth hanging open smiled. Sara walked through the door into the break room and saw Grissom and Catherine both crouched down to the floor and Nick and Greg staring.

"Hi guys" Sara exclaimed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Brass standing there smiling. Coming down the hall Warrick saw Sara and Brass in the doorway to the break room.

"Hey what's going on?" Warrick asked Sara. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Greg staring down at the floor and Nick holding Tate. Then he saw Catherine crouched down he couldn't see what she was doing until she stood up. A man stood up in front of her. When the man turned Warrick was shocked to see Grissom standing there.

"Sara is that...?" he began to ask.

"Hi Warrick" Warrick heard his name being said so he turned his attention to his old boss.

"Hey Grissom how ya doing?" Warrick asked the older man.

"Grissom, I can't believe your here?" Greg finally said after being speechless.

"Yeah, where the hell have you been?" Catherine asked hitting him with the folder that Nick had laying on the table. Tate laughed.

"Auntie Catherine, why did you hit daddy?" Tate asked innocently. Everyone's head turned to face the little girl sitting on Nick's lap.

"Because, he was being naughty" Catherine replied to Tate's question.

"Oh" she responded to Catherine. Tat jumped off Nick's lap and walked to Grissom.

"Daddy, I love you" she whispered but everyone still heard her. Grissom wrapped his bent down and picked her up.

"I love you to my little butterfly" he whispered back and Tate kissed him on the nose and Grissom kissed her back on the nose. Everyone in the room that heard Grissom and Tate smiled. Sara thought she felt her heart melt.


End file.
